‘Ill-equipped’ govt hospitals get swine flu medicine

Around 35,000 Tamiflu tablets would be supplied to at least seven large hospitals run by the Sindh and city governments within a couple of days. — File Photo

KARACHI: Senior health officials working amid a swine flu alarm in the city have put their faith in antiviral medicines being provided to them, ignoring their health facilities’ lack of capacity for a fully-fledged treatment of patients reporting with a severe infection of the H1N1 virus. 

nfection of the H1N1 virus. 

Sources added that 35,000 Tamiflu tablets would be supplied to at least seven large hospitals run by the Sindh and city governments within a couple of days. However, the preparation of isolation wards in public sector hospitals for treatment and management of patients complaining of severe respiratory problems and chest infections would not be done anytime soon.

These hospitals would not be able to establish such wards with ventilators required exclusively for swine flu treatment.

The federal health ministry’s Director-General Dr Rasheed A. Jooma told Dawn on Friday that the swine flu death toll in the country had risen to eight. The deaths have been reported from Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Faisalabad, according to him. The National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, he said, had informed him that 37 persons were positive among the 190 tested for swine flu so far.

Pointing out that there had been a rise in swine flu cases being reported in Karachi, he insisted that the virus had been carried by someone coming from abroad.

The focal person on swine flu for Sindh, Dr Shakeel A. Mullick, said that the NIH had so far confirmed five swine flu cases in the province. Four of the patients had already tested positive by the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) laboratory while the other one was deported from Oman and quarantined at the federal health ministry facility near Karachi airport.

Virenza Cipla swine flu Medicine | Virenza Swine Flu Drug

Treatment of Influenza
VIRENZA is indicated for treatment of uncomplicated acute illness due to influenza A and B virus in adults and pediatric patients 7 years and older that has been symptomatic for no more than 2 days.

Prophylaxis of Influenza
VIRENZA is indicated in adults and pediatric patients 5 years of age and older for prophylaxis of influenza.

VIRENZA is not recommended for treatment of patients with underlying airways disease (such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

DOSAGE AND ADMINISTRATION
VIRENZA is for administration to the respiratory tract by oral inhalation using Revolizer device only.

Patients scheduled to use an inhaled bronchodilator at the same time as VIRENZA should use their bronchodilator before taking VIRENZA.

Treatment of Influenza
The recommended dose of VIRENZA for treatment of influenza in adults and pediatric patientsaged 7 years and older is 2 inhalations (one 5-mg capsule per inhalation for a total dose of 10 mg) twice daily (approximately 12 hours apart) for 5 days.

Two doses should be taken on the first day of treatment whenever possible provided there is at least 2 hours between doses. On subsequent days, doses should be about 12 hours apart (e.g., morning and evening) at approximately the same time each day. There are no data on the effectiveness of treatment with Zanamivir when initiated more than 2 days after the onset of signs or symptoms.